So I have come to a realization...and I have a story to go with it. Maybe developers see this as well, and anticipate sales not being worth the downgraded port. This is something that many have said throughout the Switch's life so far, but it really hit home today...

So as some of you already know, I got a PS4 Pro soon after picking up God of War on launch day. As I worked my way through Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, and Resident Evil 7 in 4k HDR, I felt my Switch calling to me as Octopath Traveler's release neared. I also noticed that my launch PS4 was just sitting there doing nothing...time for a trade in at gamestop (something I rarely do, but it is free money for an extra console).

I decided to trade it for in store credit for 165 dollars as opposed to the 108 cash offer. If I buy games I planned on buying anyway, I am still ending up with cash in my bank account in the end, right?

I scooped up Wolfenstein 2 as I decided that the portability was more important to me than playing in 4k (bet you thought this was gonna be about power didn't you =P). I noticed Hyrule Warriors and considered buying that as well (for my collection), but there was one more title to obtain...Ys VIII...which was nowhere to be found.

Feeling defeated, as the point of this was to use the in store credit to buy the games rather than my bank accout, I began to look for another game...but found little that interested me.

Then I had a thought, just get a PS4 game. So I walked to the PS4 section and began to browse...and that is when it hit me like a ton of bricks. As I stood there with my 60 dollar Switch copy of Wolfenstein 2, I see the same game available on PS4 for 19.99 (with 4k and HDR support).

I stared at it a minute...thinking I want to play this on Switch. But how could I justify passing on a superior console verion (far superior with my new Pro), just for supporting Nintendo and portability. I almost just walked away, but then I did the math. Had Ys VIII been over there, I would have spent 180 bucks with a 165 dollar discount for 3 games. Not bad...but...I could could get more if I bought for PS4 instead...so I browsed some more...

I ended up buying Persona 5, Monster Hunter World, Assassin's Creed Origins, and Dragonball FighterZ (another Switch port I was holding out for) all for the grand total of 160 bucks...so I basically got them for free with 5 dollars to spare. Had I gone for 180 like the 3 Switch games, I would have had 5 PS4 games to 3 Switch games.

And the funny thing is, I DID NOT EVEN BUY WOLFENSTEIN 2. There very game I was looking at all of a sudden got pushed aside by a wider array of games that caught my interest. This brought to my attention another factor, the Switch just does not offer a lot of the games I wish to play. I always knew that my PS4 would offer more, but even the 3rd party games that did come to Switch got pushed to the wayside for other games I was more interested in once I opened my mind to the idea.

So the problem with Switch ports is not power...I chose portability over 4k. Had Ys VIII been there, I probably would have bought the game and left without a second thought. It IS in fact that the same games are available with better performance on the other consoles at a much cheaper price.

I have defended the 60 dollar price point on Switch ports for some time...and was not wrong about it...there is justification. The more expensive cart paired with the fact that it does require money to alter the programing to downscale the game makes it necessary despite popular opinion. However while it may not NEED to sell as much as the PS4 version to be successful, 350k sales (like DOOM for example) probably lack the profitability required to motivate a dev to make the port at all (it might even lose money).

So I canceled my pre order for Octopath Traveler and DB FighterZ on Switch, as my backlog on PS4 is now too massive for me to keep spending money. I will still buy my must have exclusives for Switch, but 3rd parties for me are sadly on the far back burner when it comes to the console (and I supported it A LOT in year 1). Focusing on Switch 3rd party games not only limits my selection of games as I can only play so many games in a certain timeframe, but it burdens my wallet as well.

And that is the story behind my realization that this is why 3rd party games, many that could in theory easily come to Switch, fail to make their way over or get ported late by a dev that specializes in porting to Switch, like Panic Button.

It is a sad truth because I wanted so bad to enjoy these games portably...but I cannot run from the truth anymore. Given the circumstances and my overall taste in games, I cannot put a focus on the Switch like I thought I could.

But do not get me wrong. I do not regret getting the Switch, Nintendo exclusives more than justify the purchase for me. I just thought I would share my thoughts on 3rd party support, why it struggles, and why I feel many people do not bother to buy the ports we do get.

I understand exactly how you feel, and the most adecuate thing I can think of to defend switch ports is that as there are a lot of people who own the switch and other console(s), there are also a lot of people who only own the switch, whatever the reason for that be, it is never a bad thing that those ports are there for those people, and if there wasn't money to be made they wouldn't be there at all

The price of retail Switch games in general is the main reason why my Switch library is still pretty thin. And it's not just 3rd party titles, though paying full MSRP for games that have been out on X1/PS4/PC for years and cost about 1/3 of the price as the Switch versions doesn't help. You've got 1st party games that have been out for well over a year like BotW, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2 etc still selling for full retail price and they hardly ever go on sale. Nintendo really needs to do a "Player's Choice" lineup for the Switch, and drop the price of some of their older games to $39.99 or less.

I get that the cost of physical releases on the Switch is more than for PS4 / X1 because the Switch uses game cards instead of discs, but when games on the Switch routinely go for 2-3 times what other versions are selling for and the fact that most 1st party titles hardly ever go on sale (or if they do it's usually a modest percentage off on the eShop), it really puts a dent in the consumer's wallet and makes them hesitant to pick up more games on the Switch than they would if software prices were more in line with the other consoles.

On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.

Currently Playing:

Some games like Disgaea 5, and DragonQuest Builders are worth getting on Switch for the portability. Also, because those games aren't as downgraded, and run fine on the system. The big AAA games like Skyrim, or Wolfenstein should be skipped. DBZ Fighters should be skipped for the PS4 version, because an ethernet cable connection drastically improves response times compared to Wi-Fi (Switch Online is just Wifi connected).

Currently Playing:

I think you've missed the whole point of portability. It's nothing to do with value for money, most people who work won't have time to sit at home and play through Persona 5, Monster Hunter World, Assassin's Creed Origins, and Dragonball FighterZ. They want them on Switch so they can fit them into their schedule while out on the go.

"...as my backlog on PS4 is now too massive for me to keep spending money."It sounds like you've just written a laborious story about how you bought a bunch of games for less money, that you'll probably never get through anyway, rather than just wait a bit to pay more for a Switch version you can play anywhere and finish any time you like. That's why Japan loves portable systems, they're busy people.

Currently Playing:

I can't relate as a primarily Nintendo Switch only gamer these days, it doesn't really matter to me what the multiplatform 3rd party Switch games are like on other systems. Anyways even though I'm not the majority, there is clearly a thriving base of 3rd party support and sales on the Nintendo Switch, more so than any other Nintendo platform in a long time.

Anyway it's never been a secret that the main reason people buy Nintendo systems are for Nintendo games, whatever 3rd party support has always just been a pleasant bonus on top of that to play the games on Nintendo's unique hardware. It's already been proven that this is plenty viable for Nintendo as a company to succeed on.

I think it's a bigger problem that they are late. Having Wolfenstein and Doom on Switch is really cool and i think it's awesome for the people who enjoy those kind of games in handheld-mode, but that isn't really for me because it's not the kind of games i want to play in handheld-mode and i already own them on PS4.
You shouldn't need to justify what buy and don't buy, how you spend your money is entirely up to you

Busted said:I understand exactly how you feel, and the most adecuate thing I can think of to defend switch ports is that as there are a lot of people who own the switch and other console(s), there are also a lot of people who only own the switch, whatever the reason for that be, it is never a bad thing that those ports are there for those people, and if there wasn't money to be made they wouldn't be there at all

I agree whole heartedly, I would love to see all 3rd party games on Switch. However I feel the factors mentioned above might have something to do with why so many games skip the Switch, due to diminishing returns. As a consumer, I see the reason. But as a publisher, if there was money to be made, most games would not skip the Switch.

zorg1000 said:Just to clarify, your main issue is number of games and price of games compared to PS4, right?

Dont you think being on the market for a little over a year vs almost 5 years is the main reason behind this?

I would agree with you, had all of the games that I bought not been released over the past year. With that in mind, the games that swayed me are perfectly comparable to the Switch's 3rd party offerings.

Shaunodon said:

I think you've missed the whole point of portability. It's nothing to do with value for money, most people who work won't have time to sit at home and play through Persona 5, Monster Hunter World, Assassin's Creed Origins, and Dragonball FighterZ. They want them on Switch so they can fit them into their schedule while out on the go.

"...as my backlog on PS4 is now too massive for me to keep spending money."It sounds like you've just written a laborious story about how you bought a bunch of games for less money, that you'll probably never get through anyway, rather than just wait a bit to pay more for a Switch version you can play anywhere and finish any time you like. That's why Japan loves portable systems, they're busy people.

...all on Switch instead of PS4 during year one. It was the very reason I was going to get Dragonball FighterZ, Ys VIII, and Wolfenstein 2 on Switch as opposed to the PS4 Pro (before my trip to gamestop of course).

The thing is, the next games I will buy are...

Red Dead Redemption 2

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Torna

Smash

Spiderman

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

...at the beginning of next year all together. I can assure you I will likely have the games I bought beaten by then, so why pre order games when I want to play the ones I bought already? The point was to spend all of what I got at gamestop as I preorder everything on Amazon due to a 20% discount as a prime member.

So you see, had I simply just preordered everything at gamestop, I would have lost money in the long run. So I instead used the credit to buy games I skipped during the first year of Switch that I wanted to play but never got around to.

melbye said:I think it's a bigger problem that they are late. Having Wolfenstein and Doom on Switch is really cool and i think it's awesome for the people who enjoy those kind of games in handheld-mode, but that isn't really for me because it's not the kind of games i want to play in handheld-mode and i already own them on PS4. You shouldn't need to justify what buy and don't buy, how you spend your money is entirely up to you

That is the other half of the problem. If they were day and date with the other versions, this would no longer be an issue. It is being late on top of being more expensive that hurts it.